The Will to Survive
by Jamie Fynn
Summary: As Earth struggles with it's biggest war yet, Ray Ferrier's three children must learn to put aside their bitter reservations and find trust in their dad once more and come to believe that they will make it through.
1. Chapter 1: Just an Ordinary day

**I've decided to repost my War of the Worlds story. No major changes have been made to the first 7 chapters that were posted, just a few grammatical errors that I had wanted to fix. By going back over each chapter, I hope to break my VERY long writer's block and eventually finish this story. **

**As I said when I originally posted this story, my take on the movie revolves around the Ferrier's and their struggle to survive together during the war that is going on. Unlike the movie, I gave Ray and Mary Ann three children and hope to expand more on their relationships prior to the events in the movie with flashbacks. Also, for future reference, Robbie is 18 years old, Rebecca is 16 years old and Rachel is 10 years old.**

**Since I have found myself with a lot of free time now (no school & no job, not cool) I will do my very best to post the edited first seven chapters and then the newest chapter as soon as I possibly can.**

**Disclaimer: Yea...I only own whatever you didn't see in the movie and Rebecca. **

* * *

The sun had yet to rise on this Friday morning in early autumn, but a tired-looking woman gazed out the window of her New Jersey home. Not a sound was heard throughout the house and the woman hoped to watch the rising sun in the last few moments of peaceful silence she had before the rest of her family awoke.

She clutched a navy mug in both hands and took a soothing sip of the mocha flavored coffee, savoring the creamy taste. She sighed softly and closed her eyes. It was nearly 6am, but she knew she would have to wake her three children soon or she would be late dropping them off to her ex-husband's house. It was a rare occurrence, but they would be staying for a full weekend at their dad's, despite their many complaints and protests, while she and her husband took a short vacation to Boston to visit her own parents.

"Mary Ann?" A masculine voice asked. The woman turned and smiled at her husband as he wrapped his arms around her waist and greeted her with a soft morning kiss.

"Just watching the sunrise before I have to wake the kids up." She replied and leaned into him. "Is all our stuff packed for the weekend?"

He nodded and stared out the window, watching as the sun broke through the horizon and lit the sky in brilliant, bold colors. Both stayed like that, watching the sky together in a comfortable silence, and enjoying the rare moment that they were alone.

Maryann caught sight of the time from the digital clock on the microwave and put her coffee mug to the side. "Tim, do you think you can make some breakfast while I go wake them up?"

"Of course, sweetie." He smiled warmly and released her from his embrace, walking to the fridge to get started with the task of cooking for five.

Deciding she had wasted enough time already, Mary Ann made her way up the stairs and to her son's bedroom. She knocked softly before pushing the door opened gently, only to find the eighteen-year-old sprawled across his bed in a deep slumber. She laughed softly and sat on the edge of his bed, just watching him sleep. He looked so much like his father with the dark hair and big, bright eyes, but was proud to know that looks were the only similarities the two shared.

"Robbie..." She whispered. He grunted, but made no other sign of waking up. "C'mon, time to get up. We have to leave for your dad's soon."

A low groan escaped his lips and he pulled his comforter up over his face. "Just five more minutes." He whined, although it was slightly muffled.

She laughed lightly and removed the blanket from his face, where he looked up at her slightly annoyed. "I still don't see why we have to go to Ray's. I'm perfectly capable of keeping an eye on my sisters while you guys go to Boston."

She watched him roll himself out of bed and trudge over to one of his dressers, opening random, messy drawers for some sort clean clothing to bring for that weekend. She stood up as well and began making his bed and grabbing the dirty laundry off the carpeted floor.

"Robbie, you know Tim and I trust you," She reasoned, "But your dad has his visitation rights. And I know I'll feel better knowing you three are safe at his house instead of here all alone."

The only answer she got was a roll of his eyes and a sigh as he walked into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door. The sound of running water was followed a few seconds later and she shook her head, closing his bedroom door behind her and tossing his dirty clothes into the hall hamper.

A short walk down the hall and she stood in front of her oldest daughter's room. Mary Ann, again, knocked and let herself in hoping at least to have a more pleasant morning experience with her daughter than she got with her son. She found the room to be empty, but her daughter's bed was already made and a black duffel bag lay opened on the floor, a small pile of clothes beside it.

"Rebecca?" She called.

A young girl poked her head out from the adjoining bathroom that she shared with her younger sister. "Yea, mom?"

"Oh, I didn't know you were already awake. How long have you been up?"

The girl shrugged, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear and walking out from the bathroom. "Five, I think. I wanted to get in the shower before Rachel and finish packing my stuff."

Mary Ann nodded and smiled warmly, "You have everything you need for the weekend? All your books so you can get your homework done?"

"Yea, most of it's done anyways." She replied and stuffed the rest of her clothes into the duffel bag and zipped it shut, before sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"Make sure you have your dad check it. Those grades need to start coming up. You can do better than what was on your last report card." Rebecca rolled her eyes and was given a stern look by her mother. "Honey, I know this has all been hard for you...but if you just talk to us; let us help you-"

"I'm fine, mom. I was just being lazy." She cut in, standing up and busying herself with brushing out her hair.

Mary Ann sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be getting anywhere else with this conversation and stood up. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Finish getting ready and bring your stuff downstairs."

Rebecca only nodded and her mother left the room, walking one door down where a row of colorful wooden letters spelled out the name Rachel. Mary Ann walked in and smiled to herself, noting how easy it was to tell the room belonged to a ten year old just by the amount of toys scattered around.

A blonde head of hair was the only thing visible underneath a pile of blankets on the small canopy bed. Mary Ann decided to let her daughter sleep for a few more minutes and pulled a small blue suitcase from the closet, neatly packing a few days' worth of clothes and toys into it, before closing it and setting it by the door.

"Rachel." She said in a sing-song voice. "Time to wake up, sleepyhead." A tiny smile graced the, otherwise, small sleeping form.

"Oh my, how am I ever going to wake you up?" Mary Ann asked, a light giggle escaping the younger of the two's lips. She smiled to herself before lightly tickling her daughter's sides, instantly waking her up.

Both laughed and the little girl hugged her mother around the waist. "You knew I was already awake!"

"Oh, you got me Rach!" She laughed and kissed the top of her head. "The showers all yours and breakfast is almost ready, but you need to hurry up so we can leave soon."

Rachel smiled and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, tossing her many blankets aside and climbing out of her bed. She ran to the bathroom and quickly shut the door, while her mother finished making the bed and grabbed the packed suitcase on her way down the stairs.

* * *

Mary Ann walked down the stairs and into the dining room, sitting herself down in her usual chair beside her husband. The table was relatively quiet as she started eating the scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast on her plate. No one said anything for a good five minutes, but Tim was the first to speak.

He had already started eating before anyone had come to the table and had, therefore, finished before all of them. He wiped his mouth on his napkin and picked up his plate and coffee mug. "You guys finish up; I'm going to go pack everything into the car so it's ready to go."

Mary Ann smiled and nodded, continuing to eat at her own meal. Robbie and Rebecca sat across from her, both still silent and staring down at their plates although Robbie appeared to be the one with an appetite.

"You know, I really appreciate you both cooperating about this weekend. It makes it a lot easier on Tim and I, and it's only for a few days anyway."

Robbie muttered something under his breath and his Mary Ann raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

He sighed and looked up to meet her gaze. "I said...I'm sure it'll be a buncha fun." He repeated sarcasm clearly evident in his tone.

"Sometimes I think you two are a bit harsh on him. He _is_ your father, after all."

"Yea, unfortunately." Robbie mumbled, this time so his mother couldn't hear.

At this moment, Rachel came running into the dining room and almost knocked over her chair when she sat in it. "What took so long?" Mary Ann asked, picking up Robbie, Rebecca, and her own plates from the table.

"I couldn't find my ribbon from my riding competition to show dad." She replied, stuffing a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. "You think he'll be happy?"

Robbie rolled his eyes but kept his comment to himself and finished up the glass of juice he was drinking. Mary Ann stood at the sink, washing the rest of the dishes, but glanced behind her to Rachel and smiled.

"He'll be so proud, sweetie." She dried her hands on the dishtowel beside the sink and turned again to her daughter. "Hurry up so we're not late. I told your dad we'd be there at eight."

Rachel only nodded and continued eating as fast as her tiny stomach would allow her to. Rebecca stared absentmindedly at the table, jumping slightly when her brother snapped his fingers in front of her face. He looked at her concerned, but she ignored it and pushed her seat out and headed for the front door.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Robbie asked, following her to the door and grabbing his heavy coat off the hook as she did the same.

Rebecca shrugged. "I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." She rolled her eyes when he, again, gave her a concerned look. "It's nothing, Robbie."

She was out the door and joining Tim in the car, before Robbie had a chance to say anything else. He sighed and shook his head to himself, making sure his IPod was securely in his pocket and walked out to the car. Rachel and Mary Ann weren't far behind and soon the family was pulling out of their driveway and beginning the long day that lay ahead.


	2. Chapter 2: Left Alone to Deal with Dad

It had been a long night and an even longer morning at work and Ray Ferrier sped down various New Jersey side streets in his black Mustang, until he finally screeched to a halt in his driveway. His ex-wife and her new husband, Tim, were standing outside on the sidewalk and judging by their impatient faces, they had probably been waiting for some time now.

"You said 8:30, right?" He asked, stepping out of his car and walking towards them, cringing inwardly with guilt.

"Eight." Mary Ann corrected, her patience wearing thin.

Ray opened his mouth to disagree, but opted to just nod in response. It was too early in the morning to start bickering, as far as he was concerned. Mary Ann just sighed and opened the backseat door of the car, motioning for their son to come out.

Clad in baggy pants, an oversized coat, and his dark shaggy hair falling into his eyes, the oldest of the three children gave his dad an irritated look as he stepped out.

"Hey Robbie," Ray greeted with an exaggerated smile. Robbie only gave him a sideways glance, before putting his headphones back on and walking to the door, ignoring whatever else his dad had to say.

"Hello dad." His youngest child greeted, a faint smile on her lips as she gave him a one-armed hug.

"Hello Rachel; Rebecca." He grinned as his other daughter sauntered out of the car. She too gave him a faint smile but followed her brother's path straight up to the front door.

"What? Too old to give your dad a hug, Becc?" He asked with opened arms. She glanced briefly back at him before going and leaning casually against the railing next to her brother on the front porch.

"Still working on those manners, I see?" He said sarcastically to his ex-wife, receiving a sigh in return.

Once Ray unlocked the front door, Robbie retreated straight to the bedroom he shared with his two sisters. Although the three siblings were far too old to still be sharing a single room, they didn't have much choice; their father's house was nearly three times smaller than that of their mother's.

Once Mary Ann started poking around Ray's kitchen and lecturing him on the lack of food and everything else he had, Rebecca decided it would be a good time to take her little sister upstairs. They were use to their parents putting each other down, but chose to block it out whenever possible.

When their mom and dad finally made an appearance in their shared bedroom, Rachel was sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing quietly with her toy horses; Robbie was comfortably spread across his bed, zoning out to the music pumping through his IPod and Rebecca had herself sprawled out on the bottom bunk bed that she shared with Rachel, lazily flipping through an old magazine.

Mary Ann walked over and unplugged her son's headphones, turning to her former husband. "Robbie has a paper on World War II, due on Monday. It'd be nice if it was done by the time we came to pick them up on Sunday."

Robbie smirked. "I just gotta type it up." Mary Ann smiled knowingly and bent down to hug him.

She stood up and pointed a look at her oldest daughter, walking over to her. "And Becca's grades haven't been doing so well lately, so no going out with friends or anything this weekend." At this the brunette rolled her eyes as her mother continued on. "Unless you take them somewhere, I want her to just stay in and finish her homework and study."

Ray gave a surprised look to his daughter, but she seemed to ignore it as she hugged her mother goodbye. "Love you mom."

Mary Ann smiled as Rachel jumped up from her toys and hugged her mother tightly. Ray looked on with envy. The times when his children jumped with joy when he walked into a room, hugged him, or even simply said 'I Love You', were now distant memories.

Within a few minutes, their mom and stepdad were gone and the three were left alone with their dad. Ray walked back into the bedroom and tossed Robbie a baseball glove, which he eyed wearily. "Come on, a couple tosses won't kill you." Robbie didn't answer and heaved a heavy sigh, forcing himself up off his bed with the glove and heading outside. Rachel gathered her toys off the floor and followed Robbie, while Rebecca didn't seem to find any interest in moving off her bed.

"Becca, why don't you get going on that homework? I'll check it later on."

The teen merely rolled her eyes and continued scanning the articles in her magazine. Ray sighed. "Ya know, I don't know what's been going on with you lately but it sure as hell better stop."

At this she looked up and fixed him with a glare. Ray noticed that her once warm chocolate colored eyes were now a dull brown, as if someone had taken all the life out of them. "You don't _know_ what's been going on, Ray, because you don't _want_ to know." She carelessly tossed her magazine to the side and stood up. "And you never did."

As her dad watched her, obviously hurt by the true words she spoke, Rebecca walked out of the room. The weekend was already off to a rough start and they had only been there for twenty minutes at the most. Ray shook his head to himself and looked down at the carpet. His daughter had been right, but only to an extent.

He really had no idea what was going on with any of his kids lately. It wasn't that he didn't want to, gosh he would do anything just to have one of them sit down and talk to him about their day, but he had given up on trying to be the ideal father when he and his wife signed the final divorce papers. And, in having surrendered to the too challenging task, he had severed any relationships he still had with his two oldest children. Ever since their family had been torn apart five years ago, Robbie and Rebecca had blamed their dad and had taken up the habit of calling him by his first name. Rachel, on the other hand, had been too young at the time that the divorce happened to know what was really going on and still clung on to the bit of relationship her and her father still had.

With this guilty thought etched in his mind, Ray grabbed a spare baseball off the kitchen counter on his way outside in hopes that a simple game of catch with his son would take his mind off his worries for the time being.

* * *

"When we're done out here, you're gonna go do that paper your mom was talking about so you're not rushing to do it at the last minute." Ray said, taking his stance at the opposite end of the yard.

Robbie tossed the ball back. "Yea, I'll do it later. I'm almost done anyways. I just gotta type it up."

"Yea? Bullshit." Ray rolled his eyes and caught the pitch.

Robbie paused. "Yea? What do you know, right?"

Ray smirked. "You haven't heard? Between me and my brother, we know everything!"

Rachel still seemed to find this over used joke funny and laughed light heartedly. Robbie only rolled his eyes. "Ok with you if I only laughed the first hundred times you use that one?"

Ray just gave a forced laugh, tossing the ball once more. "Just do your report. We don't send you to school so you can flunk out."

"You don't pay for it; Tim does." Ray caught the pitch his son threw and fixed him with a glare. He kneaded the ball into his glove for a few seconds before sending the ball whipping across the yard.

Robbie glared right back, shaking his gloved hand from the hard and sudden impact. "You're an asshole. I hate coming here."

This comment led to other bitter ones between the two and eventually the game ended with a broken window and Robbie stomping back into the house with a scowl. Rachel just stared, unnerved, at her father and ignored the slamming of the back door.

"You know, you're not going to get through to them if you keep picking fights." Rachel commented, referring to her brother and sister.

"What, who are you? Dr. Phil?" He asked annoyed, beginning to walk back into the house.

"Where're you going?" Rachel asked.

"To sleep. Some of us work for a living." He replied, his attitude greatly changing in a matter of minutes.

Rachel looked dumbfounded. "But...what're we supposed to eat?"

"You know." He shrugged, "Order." And with that he walked into the house and straight to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him and instantly falling onto his bed.

Rebecca looked up from her history book, having started on some homework a few minutes ago purely out of boredom, as her brother stomped into their bedroom. He didn't say a word and tore up his side of the room, before grabbing his wallet off the floor.

"What happened?" She spoke up cautiously, putting her book down and swinging her legs over the side of her bed.

"He's an asshole. Nothing new about that." He muttered, tucking his headphones securely into his side pocket.

She nodded in agreement. "Where're you going then?"

He shrugged. "A drive."

She stood up and reached for her own coat. "In Ray's car?" Robbie nodded in response and she reached for her own coat on the floor. "Can you drop me off at the Starbucks on Main Street?"

Robbie simply nodded, his anger and frustration towards his dad completely causing him to forget that his sister was supposed to be grounded for the weekend. The duo headed down the stairs; stopping briefly to tell Rachel they were going out and then walking right out the front door.

A few hours had passed by when Ray finally made an appearance in the living room. With a cup of coffee securely in his hand and a half-awake expression on his face, he plopped himself onto the recliner and closed his eyes tiredly. Rachel didn't seem to make much of his presence and was much too interested in the latest episode of SpongeBob to say anything.

"Rebecca!" He yelled up the stairs and took a taste of the takeout that was laid out on the coffee table. "Robbie!"

"Where are they?" He asked his daughter, his expression changing quickly to disgust as he got a full taste of what he had just eaten.

"Becca went to grab a coffee or something." Rachel shrugged, adjusting one of her dad's hard hats on her head.

He managed to find a napkin and spit out whatever it was he had just eaten and looked at her again. "What about Robbie?"

A slow grin formed on Rachel's face. "I don't know, he didn't say. He just took your car...and left."

The look on her father's face was priceless. She watched with amusement as he slammed his cup of coffee onto the table, spilling its hot contents onto his hand and the table. She kept her giggles quiet, watching him fumble for a shirt or sweatshirt and race outside.

The anger he felt towards Robbie seemed to diminish as he caught sight of the sky. Every person on the block seemed to be standing out along the street, just staring up at the darkened mass of clouds that had gathered. It almost looked as if some sort of tropical storm was about to hit; something you wouldn't normally see at this time of year, especially in New Jersey. He and a few others ran to their backyards to get a better look, just as the wind seemed to have picked up, but die back down a few minutes later.

Rachel joined him in the backyard, just as bolts of lightening streaked across the sky. It was no ordinary lightening either; it was violent and struck the ground with a fierce crack. When it wouldn't stop and started hitting even closer, Ray grabbed Rachel by the arm and the two sprinted into the house, taking refuge under the kitchen table. It struck a few streets over, hitting directly behind their house, and continued striking in the same spot. No thunder followed the lightening and neither did any rain, which only added to the oddity of the situation. After a few deafening minutes, it stopped just as suddenly as it had started.

Rachel silently pleaded for her brother and sister's safety. Ray got to his feet and she grabbed onto his arm. "Don't leave me!"

"I'm not, I'm not. Just...don't move. I'm going to check out the rest of the house." He told her, beginning to walk around and check the lights and phones. He expected for them to have lost power, but was confused to find that his cell phone no longer worked and his wristwatch had just suddenly stopped working.

"Rachel, stay in the house. I'll be right back." He yelled, trying to hide his growing panic as he remembered that he had no idea where his two other children were. He wrenched opened the front door and ran outside, stunned and confused to see that every single car had broken down on the road.

He scanned the street quickly, sighing in relief when he spotted Robbie running towards him. "Are you alright?" He asked, glancing around quickly and taking in everything that was going on around them as people fiddled under the hoods of their cars, hoping for a spark of life in them.

"Yea, yea fine." Robbie answered, also looking around.

"Did you see it? Did you see the lightening?"

"Y-yea, twenty six times. Me and this other guy were counting. It made like a hole or something over on Lincoln Ave."

"A hole?" Ray asked. "But you're ok, right?" Robbie nodded once more, trying to catch his breath from running. "Where's Rebecca?"

"I uhh I don't know, I dropped her off at a Starbucks." Both looked around and strained there eyes to try and find the young brunette among the growing chaos. Both were washed over with relief when she appeared only a few seconds later, running up to where they were standing.

"What the hell happened? Where did you go?" Ray questioned frantically.

She looked quite pale and a bit shaken up and glanced between her brother and her dad. "I, I just...I went to grab a coffee and then the lightening started so I went outside to watch it with some friends I met up with. Then it just kept going and every car on the street just...stopped. Everyone started getting kinda panicky and running around. And my cell phone died so I couldn't call Robbie to come get me, so I just ran home."

"Ok. And you're ok?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. She only nodded, shaking a bit and breathing hard from having sprinted all the way home.

"OK..." Ray paused, running over what to do in his head, "Ok, uh yea both of you go in the house. Rachel's waiting. I'm going to go see what's going on."

He nodded to himself and turned to leave, but looked once more back at his son. "And Robbie, the next time you take my car without a driver's license or permission...I call the cops!"

The two watched their father jog off down the street and out of sight. They would never admit it out loud, but both were confused and scared and their dad had (again) run off at a time when they needed him most. Robbie only sighed and slung an arm around Rebecca's shoulder as they made their way back into the house, preparing to have to answer the number of questions they knew they would be bombarded with by their younger sister.


	3. Chapter 3: The Beginning of the End

"_Your father and I are getting a divorce." _

_The fateful words had finally been spoken. Both Ray and Mary Ann held their breath, receiving three sets of blank stares in return. An awkward silence filled the room for a few minutes until Rachel, only 5 years old at the time, decided to speak up._

"_What's that mean?" She asked, eyes wide with curiosity, as she lovingly clutched the stuffed toy horse in her arms._

_Mary Ann glanced at her husband, before crouching down in front of her youngest child. "It just means daddy won't be living with us anymore."_

_Robbie, being 13 and knowing full well what the word 'divorce' meant, narrowed his eyes at Ray. "What did _he_ do now?"_

_Ray cringed at the bitterness in his only son's voice and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off quickly by Mary Ann. "It was no single person's fault, sweetie. We love you three very much...and still care for each other; we just...find it easier if we live apart."_

"_Does, does that mean we won't see daddy any more?" 11- year- old Rebecca piped up, looking back and forth between her parents. _

_Before either could talk, Robbie stood and looked directly at his father. "What would it matter if we got to see him or not? He's never around anyways."_

"_Robert..." Mary Ann warned._

_Robbie ignored his mother and never let his eyes leave his father's. "You ruined this family." _

Those last words played over and over in Ray's mind as he continued towards Lincoln Avenue. Although it had been almost five years since their divorce was finalized, Ray couldn't help but be reminded of the guilt he felt each time he saw his three children. His relationship with each of them deteriorated from that moment and he wasn't sure if their trust in him could ever be restored.

His attention was distracted away from his painful memories, as he entered upon chaos in the middle of the street. As he stepped further into the growing crowd, Ray was amazed to see that the multiple lightening strikes had created a crater like hole. Crouching down, he picked up a piece of the broken concrete and turned it over in his hand.

"Isn't it hot?" Someone behind him asked.

Ray shook his head. "No...it's completely cold." This struck him even odder, but he had no time to think on it further, for a low rumbling emitted from under the crowd.

Police officers attempted to force the spectators back onto the sidewalks, but found it no use. The rumbling from beneath became louder and heavier, sending spider-like cracks further and further along the concrete ground. People screamed and ran for cover as all hell broke loose.

Slates of earth shifted, cars were upturned, windows shattered, and whole buildings began to slowly crumble. Then there was silence. People stopped screaming and running and stood, frozen in awe, as the section of road that had been hit by lightening only minutes before, dissolved straight into the ground, leaving only dust and rubble in its wake.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes widened in horror as an immense metal machine emerged from below the dust. A few people were smart and ran away in fear, but most stood and gazed intimidated at the foreign craft. A low, loud noise, similar to that of a foghorn, cried out from the machine and two long 'arms' extended from it. Ray and many others stepped back cautiously but never tore their eyes away from the object.

Lasers shot out from the two metallic arms, eliminating as many people in its path as they were instantly turned to ashes as the beams flashed through them. The lucky ones, for the time being, ran for their lives. Ray was one of the fortunate ones to have missed the beams, and ducked behind building corners and cars to avoid the deadly machine.

'_Get home.'_ Was the only thought going through Ray's mind as he sprinted the four or five blocks, where his three children sat, unaware of the danger coming their way.

Back at their house, the three sat silently in the living room waiting for their dad's return. Rachel leaned against her big sister, bored and slightly disappointed that she had missed the end of her favorite cartoon. A loud horn sounded in the distance and all three looked at one another.

"What was that?" Rebecca asked curiously, turning around and glancing out the window.

Robbie opened the front door and looked out. The only sight that greeted him was that of a few neighbors trying to push their cars home and a couple other people running down the street. He shrugged and shut the door.

"Couldn't tell ya."

Rachel grew anxious after they sat there for another few minutes in silence and opted to wait at the screen door until their dad came back with answers. When he finally did, all three kids were taken aback by his appearance. Their dad looked as if he had just come out of a war zone; covered in soot and ash and a far away, haunted expression on his face.

Ray walked past them, not saying a word and collapsed onto the floor of the kitchen, leaning against the counter island. "What happened?" Robbie asked, following his dad and sisters. His father only stared back at him blankly.

"What's that stuff all over you?" Rebecca asked, crouching down to his eye level.

Rachel grabbed the back of his jacket, startling him greatly. He looked at each of them, his mouth hanging opened and pushed himself off the ground, staggering into the bathroom. Ray stared at his reflection and tried desperately to wipe away the dirt, splashing his face repeatedly until most of it was gone.

"We're leaving this house in sixty seconds." He managed to finally say, grabbing a cardboard box and dumping its contents onto the floor, thrusting it in his son's arms. "Put whatever food you can find in here; Becca help him."

Robbie ignored his father's request and instead tried to get some answers out of him as to what was going on. "Just do it." Ray ordered, grabbing a flashlight and some spare batteries.

Rebecca did as she was told, sensing something wasn't right, and helped her brother grab whatever food they could find around the kitchen and in the cabinets. Rachel had sprinted up the stairs with her father, running into her room and frantically stuffing whatever she could back into her small blue suitcase. After Ray had grabbed a small object and stashed it in his back pocket, he ushered them all out of the house, still ignoring any questions they had.

He mumbled a silent plea to himself as they walked across the street to a car dealership where Ray knew one of the mechanics, Manny. He had given advice earlier to Manny about one of the cars he was working on and guided his family over to that car.

"Robbie get in the front seat."

He shoved Rachel's suitcase into the very back of the van and hurried her and Rebecca in, slamming the door shut behind them. All three, confused and growing fearful, watched as their dad climbed into the driver's seat, just as Manny approached.

"Very funny Ray. I got the customer coming back in a few minutes, he's not gonna wanna see you in his car." Manny chuckled, wiping his hands free of grease on an old rag in his side pocket.

Ray didn't answer and, instead, turned the car on, relieved to find it actually worked. "Manny, I don't have time for this. Get in the van."

His friend just looked at him as if he was crazy. "Alright Ray, come on. Get out of the van."

Ray shook his head and continued to go back and forth with the mechanic for a few seconds longer, before cutting him off mid-sentence. "Get in Manny or you're gonna die."

Manny stared at him for a second but shook his head and continued arguing. At hearing this, all three kids stopped talking. Robbie glanced back at his sisters in confusion and then back to his dad to try and ask what was happening. Rebecca's eyes were wide in shock and fear, but Rachel looked about to hyperventilate as hot tears started to form in her eyes. Something exploded behind them and both girls turned around, fear rising steadily as they saw sections of the bridge collapse followed by odd beams of light.

Robbie slammed his door shut and his father sped off, just as a laser went through Manny and turned him into a cloud of dust.

"Get down, get down, GET DOWN!" Ray shouted as all three hunched over in their seats until they were clear on the highway, away from exploding houses, screaming victims, and whatever was causing such destruction.

"What _was_ that?!" Robbie yelled, glancing behind them every few seconds.

Rachel was screaming and Rebecca, although trying to calm her down, couldn't stop herself from starting to shake in panic. "Rachel, calm down" Ray said gently, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror.

His patience was starting to wear thin as he tried to think of where they could escape to and find safety. "Rachel...shut up Rachel!" Ray yelled again as she let out another high-pitched scream.

"Stop yelling at her!" Robbie yelled back at him, forcing himself into the back seat.

"Ok, Rach." He said, placing his hands on her tiny shoulders. "Nothing can hurt you. You're safe. We're going to be fine."

"I'm safe." She repeated and tried to slow her breathing. "Nothing can hurt me."

Robbie nodded and turned to his other sister. "You ok?" He asked, his eyes scanning hers.

"Yes." She replied meekly, although shaking her head.

He didn't know what else he could do to comfort her at the moment, especially since he didn't even know what was going on in the first place. He gave her hand a small, reassuring squeeze and went back to his seat in the front.

"I want to know everything you know." He muttered to the frantic driver.

"These things, they just...came up from under the ground and started torching _everything_." Ray swerved to the left and then quickly to the right to avoid hitting a broken down car. "They had to of been buried here hundreds of years ago. But the lightening...maybe they had something to do with it."

"They? They who?" He asked confused, glancing in the back to check on his sisters.

"Whoever's driving those machines. They...they aren't from around here."

Robbie raised an eyebrow, completely confused by this statement. "Where? Like Europe?"

"No Robbie, not like Europe!" Ray yelled, starting to get annoyed and caused Rachel to start screaming again for her mother.

Robbie sighed and climbed into the middle seat once again, helping Rebecca to calm their sister back down, while Ray continued to speed down the expressway towards their mother's New Jersey home.

Once they got past the main highway and further down where the lightening storm hadn't affected the cars or electricity, the mood in the car was deafeningly silent. Ray had no words to comfort his children or tell them it would be ok. To be honest, he wasn't sure that everything actually would be ok. To try and focus his mind on something else for the rest of the car ride, he turned on the radio and flipped through stations until he found one that was, miraculously, still on the air. Meanwhile, Rachel was fast asleep, leaning her head against the cool glass of the window, while her brother and sister sat in silence in the seats beside her.

Rebecca stared solemnly down at her lap, millions of thoughts running through her mind, none of them positive given the current situation. She feared for her mother and her step-dad. Their family had just started coming together again and now they were torn back apart. Her breathing quickened when realization hit that she may never see or talk to her mother again. Her palms became clammy and tears filled her eyes, feeling as if the walls of the van were closing in; suffocating her.

Her short breaths caught her brother's attention and he shook her shoulder gently. "Becc, you ok?"

She didn't answer, but started crying while trying to take deep gasps of breath. Ray glanced in the backseat, worried, and looked to Robbie for answers. "What's wrong with her?" He asked and then glanced back once more at his daughter. "Becca? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Rebecca ignored her father's fleeting looks and cried into her brother's shoulder as he rubbed her back and whispered condolences in her ear. Her breathing eventually slowed back to a normal rate and her tears became fewer and fewer, until she was finally asleep in his protective arms.

Ray glanced to his son once more in the rear-view mirror, continuing to drive as fast as he could towards his ex-wife's house, when Robbie finally met his eyes. "She gets claustrophobic when she's scared...she'll be fine."


	4. Chapter 4: There's No Place Like Home

As dusk settled into night, the life-saving van rolled into a beautiful, clean cut neighborhood. Every house was uniquely (and largely) built, while the lawns were all perfectly kept and expensive cars filled each driveway. Ray pulled into a familiar driveway beside a beautiful Colonial style house and sighed softly to himself; he never could afford the best for his family.

"Come on dad." Rachel said anxiously as the car pulled to a stop. "Robbie, get the door."

Robbie only gave his dad a short glance as Rachel dragged him to the front door, Rebecca not far behind with her sister's suitcase. The three burst into the house, Rachel immediately searching every room downstairs for her mom or stepdad. "Mom? Tim?"

Robbie walked around slowly, glancing around the house before calling out, while Rebecca ran up the stairs. "Mom! Tim!"

"They're gone." Robbie pointed out.

Panic overtook Rachel's small face. "Where are they? Are they dead?"

"No, they're not dead." Ray assured, carrying the box of food Robbie had packed earlier. "They were never here."

"How do you know?" Rebecca asked, following her father and Rachel into the kitchen.

"Because they went straight to Boston after dropping you guys off. They're probably already there." He answered as the two girls both sat down on the chairs surrounding the island counter.

Robbie walked in and joined them, motioning to the cordless phone in his hand. "There's no answer on mom's cell phone."

Ray didn't seem to hear this, as he was busy pulling condiments out of the box. "Olives, ketchup, mayo, mustard? This is great guys, I said pack food."

"That's all that was in your kitchen." Robbie shot back in a low voice, taking a seat next to his sisters.

Ray took out a jar of peanut butter and pushed the rest of the box aside. "Ok uhh, food. Bread." He grabbed a bag of white bread on the opposite counter, dumping the slices out onto the countertop.

"Ya know, when we're done eating… we'll go downstairs and I'll teach you guys how to play poker." He joked, though his laugh quickly died when he saw three un-amused faces staring back at him.

He cleared his throat and unscrewed the top of the peanut butter jar, grabbing the nearest utensil and began spreading the gooey food all over a slice of bread.

Rachel watched him for a minute, before speaking up. "You know I'm allergic to peanut butter, right?"

Ray rolled his eyes, continuing to make the sandwiches. "Oh yea? Since when?"

There was a short pause and all three looked at him. "Birth." She replied dully.

He glanced at Rebecca and Robbie, but both just nodded. This only further proved how little he knew or paid attention to his kids. He shook the guilt from his mind for the time being and simply placed the two plain pieces of bread in front of her. "Well, you can just eat the bread then."

"Not hungry." She mumbled.

"Alright fine, the three of us are gonna be having sandwiches though. You guys want jelly on these?"

"I'm not hungry either." Rebecca replied softly; Robbie staying silent beside her.

"Alright, alright. Fine." Ray said hastily and gathered up the bread, tossing everything into the nearby trash bin. He just couldn't seem to get anything right today. He looked out the window and at the faint reflection staring back at him. The confidence of getting his family out of this situation safely was slowly starting to diminish, but he refused to put that thought in his childrens' minds.

Having lost his appetite as well, Ray had them gather their blankets and pillows and guided them down to the basement, hoping to try and acquire some much needed sleep.

"Dad, why do we have to sleep in the basement? It's cold down here. Our beds are much more comfortable." Rachel asked, following her dad down the stairs.

"Because, Rach. Besides, it'll be fun...like a slumber party or something." Ray replied vaguely, looking around at the finely furnished basement/gym. "Nice basement." He mumbled to himself, envy plainly evident in his tone.

"I'd rather sleep in my own bed." Rachel pouted, giving her dad 'the look' that he usually caved in to and let her have her way. Ray showed no sign of changing his mind, causing his youngest daughter to start whining. "But why?"

Her dad sighed and tossed his pillow and blanket on a near by arm chair. "Well...Rach, ya know on the weather channel when they tell you there's going to be a tornado so you go down to the basement? It's kind of like that."

"Wait." Rebecca said, her eyes going wide. "There's going to be tornados, too?"

Ray turned to the three. "Look, no more questions. Just go to sleep."

Rebecca glared at him. "Would it kill you to be a little nicer?" She muttered as he turned away.

"C'mon." Robbie urged, pushing the two over to the space beneath the stairs and helped them set up a bed. He flipped the switch off for the overhead light and the entire room was submerged in darkness, except for a small corner where a desk light was still glowing faintly.

"Alright, I love you guys." Robbie said, making sure they were both as comfortable as could be, given their sleeping situation.

"Love you, Robbie. Love you, Becca." Rachel smiled, cuddling under her blanket with her favorite stuffed horse.

"Love you, too." Rebecca answered, sighing softly to herself and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. She glanced sadly to where her dad was sitting, before turning onto her other side and closing her eyes.

Robbie plopped himself down in a sofa chair adjacent to where his dad was and plugged in his headphones, closing his eyes and hoping for sleep to take over. Making sure none of his kids were looking, Ray removed a handgun from his back pocket and stored it securely behind a pillow of the chair he was lounging on. Having acted in desperation back at his house, he had grabbed the one weapon he kept in his house and hoped it would come in handy at some point throughout their journey. A deep sigh escaped his lips, his body starting to relax, and he took a moment to look around at each of his children, guilt and regret quickly rising in him once again.

First was Robbie; his only son and oldest child. This was the one person Ray was supposed to share an even more special bond with than his daughters. Someone he could enjoy going to baseball games with, work on cars with, go fishing with, and give advice to. And they did share those special interests, but only for too short a time. That bond had quickly been severed when work and going out with his buddies became more important to Ray, than sitting at home with his wife on a Friday night or helping his young son with his homework before the big game came on. He couldn't really even call Robbie a child anymore either; he was in fact 18. Despite the smartass attitude he may elude, Robbie was actually a pretty compassionate person and Ray was proud of him for that. His son's compassion was most visible when he was with his younger sisters; they were his world and he would do anything to protect them. Robbie had probably been more of a father figure to them than Ray had ever been.

Then there was his sweet, beautiful Rebecca. He had been so overjoyed when his wife gave birth for the second time and presented him with a daughter; daddy's little girl. She had been so tiny and precious in his arms, that Ray had wished that moment could last forever. Ever since she learned to walk and talk, Rebecca wanted to do everything her daddy did. She was happy to go everywhere he went and was overly ecstatic the day she caught her first baseball pitch after months of practice in the backyard. But as the years went on, their time together became less and she was fortunate enough to even see him before she was tucked into bed. Then one day, Ray's happy-go-lucky little girl was no more. She no longer joked freely with him at the dinner table, proudly presented him with her impressive report card, or even cared to talk much to him when he was around. When she was born, Ray had vowed to do whatever it took to protect her from pain. But here he was, sixteen years later, and he had done the opposite and become the main source for all her anger and frustration.

Last was his spunky, outspoken, little Rachel. His baby. They had, had such a limited time together before the divorce happened, and Ray was grateful that she knew very little of his careless habits that slowly tore apart his marriage and family. She didn't understand why, after a long day of work, he'd rather sleep than sit down to dinner with his family, or why he would go out with his buddies and not come home till the early morning hours, or how he neglected his wife's feelings and left her to raise their three small children while he indulged his own needs and desires. His chance to be a bigger part of Rachel's life wasn't fully gone however he also hadn't done much to sustain it. The one thing Ray could be happy about was that he still had one child that wouldn't snap at him every time they talked or simply ignore him all together.

Ray sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose with his hand. He was losing them and it was the worst time to have come to this realization- in the midst of an invasion on earth by some other worldly intelligence. But what ever was to happen, he promised himself that he would make sure his children survived, even if that meant he didn't. With this seemingly large task on his mind, he managed to drift into a light sleep.

* * *

It was well past midnight when Ray started to stir in the chair that he was uncomfortably sleeping in. Flashes of color danced across his eyelids, but he only leapt out of his seat when he heard lightening strike the ground not far from the house. On the second strike, Robbie leapt out of his chair, staring at the lone, opened window on the wall where loose branches were scuttling wildly from the wind. Rachel and Rebecca slowly emerged from their spots under the stairs, peering over the wooden steps; terror written all over their faces.

"Is the lightening back?" Rachel asked in a hushed voice, already knowing the answer.

Another strike hit down followed by an unearthly noise; a mix between a piercing scream and a shrill whistle. Rachel screamed and Rebecca grabbed onto her arm, pulling her to where their dad and brother were standing.

Robbie embraced them both protectively. "What's that noise?!" He yelled to anyone in general, the sound growing louder and nearer.

"Is it them? Is it them?" Rachel shouted, clutching desperately onto her brother's jacket.

Ray looked around frantically. "Robbie, where do we go? This is your house, where do we go!"

He glanced around before turning to a door behind him and whipping it opened, shoving his sisters down the stairs and into the boiler room and then grabbing his dad who seemed to be frozen in fear. Something burst through the window, spreading a fire throughout the room. Ray was able to shut the door just as it reached them, getting away with only a minor burn on his forearm.

He couldn't sleep for the rest of the night even though it was only, roughly, about one in the morning. The three kids huddled together on the ground, exhausted. Robbie was propped up against the wall, while his sisters used his lap and legs as pillows. Ray attempted to close his eyes as he leaned back against the stone wall, but found it nearly impossible. He spent the rest of the time staring out the small window and fearing what lay ahead for them.

Once dawn approached he checked to see if the coast was clear outside and quietly crept out of the boiler room. Shock overtook him when he saw what remained of the basement; the stairs appeared to be the only things left standing, although they were burnt just as badly as everything else. He carefully climbed the stairs, nursing his injured arm in his hand, and let his mouth hang open in awe at the sight that lay ahead.

The basement door he had just walked out from that usually led into the hallway nearest to the kitchen, now led straight outside- half of the house was gone and the upstairs was looking just as nonexistent. A large airplane engine lay to his left and as he stepped further out, he gasped. Everything was destroyed. Half of a large airplane lay atop what used to be the neighbor's house and anything else was either burned or crushed.

A news truck was off to the side, somehow managing to get away unhurt. Two men ran about trying to open a cooler that tumbled out of the airplane in search of food, while a woman talked a mile a minute to Ray about what they had seen. She showed him a video they had taken not long ago of what was really causing so much devastation. Alien tripod machines were roaming over every inch of the earth, either torching or capturing any living thing they could find. She went even further to explain that the machines, indeed, had been buried here thousands of years ago, but the aliens had come down in capsules in the lightning.

A call sounded in the distance. It was the same call the machine on Lincoln Avenue had made, right before it killed nearly two hundred people. The news reporters jumped into the awaiting news van and sped off, leaving Ray to fend for himself and his children.

He stared down at Rachel as she slipped her purple vest over her shoulders. "You're to keep your eyes closed, no matter what. Do you understand?"

Rachel nodded as her father picked her up and she closed her eyes shut, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Rebecca and Robbie followed close behind and were hit with the reality of the situation once they stepped outside. Robbie looked furious, walking around and taking everything in. Rebecca, on the other hand, stared in absolute shock and horror.

"Get in the van!" Ray yelled, sliding into the front seat and holding Rachel on his lap. Rebecca quickly got into the back, but Robbie remained standing among the debris. "Robbie, get in the van!" He yelled, receiving a glare back from his son.

"Why are you yelling?" Rachel asked, lifting her head anxiously.

"Shh, shh." Ray said, holding her to his chest so she couldn't look around. "Get in the van." He said, trying to keep his voice calm.

Robbie gave up and jumped into the front seat and Ray wasted no time in stepping on the gas pedal, doing his best to weave the van through all the fallen debris and destruction around them.


	5. Chapter 5: A Desperate Plea

As they drove away from their once perfect home in New Jersey, the only sound in the car was that of the static radio stations that Robbie continued to flip through. None of them came through clear enough, but he refused to give up, only hoping to find some sort of insight or news as to what was happening around them.

Ray turned sharply off the main road and ignored the three questioning looks he was getting. As he kept his speed steady, Ray attempted to multi-task by watching the road and glancing a few times at the road map in his lap.

"Why aren't we staying on the main road? It'll lead us straight to Boston." Robbie asked, snatching the map away so he could try and pinpoint where they were.

"Because," Ray said and took the map back, "I don't want everyone to see that we have a working car."

Robbie rolled his eyes as Rebecca sighed tiredly from the middle seat of the van, not being one for long car rides. "Do you even know where we're going, Ray?"

Ray cringed inwardly, hating that she had picked up the habit of calling him by his first name, just like her older brother. "Of course I do. Just hang tight for a bit longer."

"Oh please, why are we even running? If we had any balls, we'd go back there and fight like everyone else." Robbie muttered, glaring at the scenery that passed them.

Ray sighed, feeling another headache coming on. "How 'bout you just let me handle the big decisions."

Robbie smirked. "And that'd be like when, Ray? Never?"

Ray's patience was starting to wear very, very thin. Robbie knew exactly how to push his buttons and always seemed to find satisfaction in doing so. Rachel sighed from the back seat, fully aware that a shouting match between the two was about to take place. Rebecca merely stared out the window, having learned a long time ago how to block out the constant yelling and fighting in her family.

"That's it!" Ray yelled and stopped short on the side of the road, putting the car in park. "Enough of this Ray shit! You call me dad, sir, or Mr. Ferrier." He glanced back to Rebecca and then back at Robbie. "That one...sounds a little weird to me, but you decide."

"Dad." Rachel spoke loudly, annoyed by the petty argument.

"Yes, Rachel?" He spoke more calmly, turning to his youngest child.

Rachel unbuckled her seat belt. "I have to go to the bathroom." She didn't wait for a response from him and opened the door and jumped out, heading towards an area surrounded by trees a few feet away.

Ray only sighed and turned off the car, not wanting to waste the little gas that they had left. Robbie said nothing more and opened his door, slamming it behind him and walking off in a different direction than his little sister did. Not wanting to spend another awkward minute in the car with her father, Rebecca stepped out of the van and walked off to where Rachel had gone.

Ray's anxiety grew, but he tried to calm himself with the knowledge that the deadly machines were no where near them at the moment. For the first time since he had pulled over, Ray looked around at his surroundings. It was a small town, with only a few duplex houses, a measly corner store and a rusty old gas station. No cars passed him on the road as he sat in the driver's seat; it was entirely abandoned. He found the silence of the town to be oddly eerie and tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel, waiting for his kids' return.

He sighed in relief when he saw Robbie walking back towards the van and his two daughters emerging from behind a gathering of trees, not too far off. The silent town was soon torn in two when nearly half a dozen army trucks and tanks barreled down the lone street. Robbie's eyes lit up when he spotted them and he sprinted towards the edge of the road, flailing his arms frantically in the air to try and catch their attention.

"Wait! Stop!" He pleaded, not caring that he was being drenched as the trucks passed through large puddles. "Let me on!"

No matter how loud he yelled, the trucks and jeeps continued to pass him by as the soldiers stared at him in pity. Ray bolted from the van and grabbed his son by the back of his jacket, spinning him around to face him.

Robbie jerked free of his father's grasp. "Don't touch me!" He spat, his emotions getting the best of him.

"They're heading in the opposite direction, Robbie!" Ray yelled, struggling to be heard over the roar of the engines that passed. "There is _nothing_ for us back there!"

"Yes there is!" The eighteen-year old yelled angrily. "We head back with these soldiers and we fight!"

"That's your big plan, tough guy?" Robbie only nodded in response, breathing hard from the shouting match.

Although the army trucks were far gone down the road, Ray found it hard to keep from yelling back at his son. "Great plan, Robbie! Now how about thinking of a plan that doesn't involve your sisters joining the army?!"

Robbie wiped some splattered dirt from his lip and glared at his father. "What the hell do you care what we do? You never gave a shit about us!"

"Where do you come off saying that?" Ray asked his voice now deathly calm.

Robbie went unfazed by the sudden change in his dad's voice and continued yelling. "Oh please! You only care about yourself and you know it. You always have. You only chose to head to Boston, because you hope moms there and then you can dump us on her and worry about yourself! And that's _exactly_ the way you like it!"

Rebecca dropped her younger sister's hand, the two having stood by and watched the entire dispute, and walked up to her brother. He was still seething with anger and hate, but calmed with the simple touch of her hand on his arm. He closed his eyes, clenching and unclenching his fists a few times, and opened his eyes once he had his emotions fully under control.

Rebecca looked at her brother with pleading eyes. "Please, can we just go?" She asked her voice barely above a whisper.

Robbie sighed and nodded slowly, slinging an arm over her shoulders and led her and Rachel back into the van. Ray shook his head and stared helplessly up into the dreary looking sky. Taking a few minutes to compose himself, he walked back to the van and drove off without saying another word.


	6. Chapter 6: Food for Thought

The mood in the car was anything but pleasant as Ray drove further and further towards their destination. After the heated display of emotions exchanged by Robbie and his dad, Robbie had refused to sit in the front seat with Ray and, instead, squished in the back between his sisters. Despite the many harsh words thrown at him during his son's outburst, Ray found himself full of regret, rather than frustration or anger.

Robbie had been right. For so many years Ray had only really cared about himself. Of course he loved his children, but they had their mother and a step-father to look up to and care for them. Ever since his visits with his kids became fewer and fewer over a span of several months, Ray thought of the little time with them as merely babysitting rather than a chance to bond.

Ray's train of thought was broken when his daughter's small voice floated up from the back seat. "What, Rach?"

"I'm hungry." She repeated and crawled into the front seat beside him.

He sighed and glanced at her before turning back to the road. "You had your chance to eat. We can't stop now."

"But I'm hungry." She whined, close to tears as the stress of the day finally caught up with her.

"I'm sorry, Rachel..."

"We just passed a convenience store about five minutes ago." Rebecca noted, regretting the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she had passed on earlier.

Ray just shook his head. "We can't afford to stop for anything. I'm sorry."

"If we don't eat now then we won't make it to Boston. We _need_ food, Ray." Robbie spoke up, his nerves still on edge from their earlier fight.

Ray glanced in the rear view mirror at his two oldest children and then in the seat beside him at Rachel. He sighed and turned the car around. "Fine. An hour and that's all. It'll be dark pretty soon and I want to get to the ferry by then."

* * *

As soon as Ray had parked the van in what was left of the parking lot, Rachel leapt out of her seat, followed closely by her older siblings. Ray only sighed and gripped the keys tightly in his fist, scanning their surroundings before he joined them in the deserted store.

Almost everything was gone. Shelves were nearly bare or thrown carelessly about, while empty boxes and packages were strewn all over the floor. Rachel ran around, grabbing whatever her hands could find and stuffing them inside the small plastic bag she had grabbed. Rebecca stayed close by her brother's side, the two stalking up and down the isles, trying to find anything edible that would last them more than a few days. Ray stood up at the check-out desk; grabbing any lighters that may have been left, along with batteries, candy, and anything else that might help them if the need were to arise.

Without waiting for anyone else, Rachel grabbed a box of 'Cheerios' and plopped herself down on the dirty floor, opening the box and stuffing handful after handful of the dry cereal into her mouth and washing it down with a bottle of water she had been lucky enough to find. Rebecca joined her sister, leaning her back against a shelf and nibbling at the chocolate bar in her hand. Robbie sat down a few minutes later, carrying a paper bag full of food. Ray then completed the circle on the floor, but chose not to eat as he had suddenly found he had lost his appetite.

"Are we going to die?" Rachel suddenly asked, putting her box of cereal to the side and looking directly at her dad.

Ray found himself at a loss for words. However unexpected the question had been, Rebecca and Robbie looked up at their dad, wanting to know the answer as well although, deep down, they felt they already did.

"I...we..." Ray sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at his daughter once again. "Why would you ask that, Rach?"

She rolled her eyes and stood up in frustration. "I'm not a baby anymore, dad! You know what's going on...so tell me the truth. Are we going to die?" She yelled, taking her family all by surprise.

The three watched the small blonde pace back and forth, her treasured stuffed horse held tightly in her hand. Ray could see the tears glistening in her eyes and quickly reached out and pulled her into his lap, hugging her to his chest.

"I will never, _ever_, let anything bad happen to you." He whispered, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his jacket.

He looked up at Rebecca and Robbie. "To any of you." He did not blink, but held their gaze, wanting them to know he meant every word he said. "I promise."


	7. Chapter 7: Human Nature at its Worst

As nighttime finally began to fall, so did a downpour of rain. While Ray slept soundly in the passenger seat, Robbie had taken control of the wheel and struggled to see the road ahead of him clearly. Rachel and Rebecca were fortunate enough to sleep for over a half hour, but now found themselves wide awake and watching in pity at the desperate passersby along the road. Their working vehicle caught the attention of many envious eyes and the young driver grew uneasy as the crowd outside began to grow.

"Hey Ray." Robbie said, glancing anxiously at the seat beside him. "Ray! Dad!"

Ray jumped in his seat and rubbed his eyes, looking around them at the mob that seemed to have formed around their van.

"Can you...maybe, just take the wheel now?" His son asked. Ray nodded and maneuvered himself back into the driver's seat as Robbie climbed back into the passenger seat.

The tiny box of glass and metal they sat in seemed to be of little comfort to Rebecca and Rachel, as fists pounded fiercely against the doors and windows. Robbie glanced about in every direction, his nerves on edge that something bad was about to happen and Ray struggled to do his best of steering them and the van safely through the sea of people.

An older man, finding his fist to be of no use in his fight for the van, bashed his flashlight against the side window, causing it to crack in all directions. A second smash broke the entire window and both girls beside it screamed in fright, shielding their faces with their arms.

Everything after that happened in a blur of only a few seconds. Ray, thrown off by the unexpected action, swerved violently across the road, nearly hitting a few bystanders. Robbie had climbed into the back seat, covering his sisters' bodies with his own and screaming at the people that tried to claw their way in through the window. Having lost all control of the vehicle, Ray pressed hard on the brake and the van crashed head on into a telephone pole.

The moment they crashed, the mob of people swarmed the van in any attempt to try and save themselves. Ray fought back as he was pulled from the front seat, but his three children had little luck in defending themselves against the desperate attackers. Robbie was dragged into the crowd, punching and yelling for his dad and sisters. Rebecca was thrown from the car and did her best to protect herself from the stampede of people and feet around her.

Rachel screamed for her dad, having been left in the van, but nearly suffocating from the amount of people that tried to force their way into the back seat.

"Rachel, get out of the car!" Ray yelled ducking as someone threw a punch at his face. She nodded and struggled to pull her small body out from under the crowd, clawing at the broken window beside her for help, but found it no use.

The yelling and fighting of the crowd stopped suddenly when two gunshots went off in the air. People slowly backed away, leaving Ray in the center, a gun held in his hand. He pointed it around at individuals in the crowd, trying to catch his breath. "My children! Where are my children?"

"Whoa, hey take it easy, buddy." A man close to him tried to reason.

Ray spun and pointed the gun frantically at him. "I said…where are my children?!" He shouted louder, the gun shaking in his hand.

A small group of people backed away as Robbie staggered out and collapsed on the ground beside his dad. Blood was smeared across his nose and he took in deep, ragged breaths from having been kicked repeatedly in the stomach. A few seconds later, Rebecca was dragged from the side of the crowd by a random person, and clung to her brother as she was thrown beside him. She was shaking uncontrollably and seemed unaware of the blood trickling down the side of her face from a gash above her right eyebrow.

At the sight of his two children, so battered and bruised, something in Ray snapped and he aimed the gun directly at the large group of people crammed into the van.

"Get out of the van! NOW!" He screamed and fired the gun once more into the air. The people scrambled out the doors and windows and Ray swiftly picked up Rachel and carried her back to where Robbie and Rebecca were now standing, leaning against each other for support.

Pointing the weapon once more into the crowd, Ray stood protectively in front of his two older children, Rachel's arms still wrapped tightly around his neck. "We are taking OUR van and no one comes near us!"

Not one person from the crowd spoke or even nodded their head. All their eyes and attention seemed to be on the man standing beside Ray, holding a gun to his head. At seeing the wild look in the man's eyes, Ray slowly lowered his whimpering daughter to the ground and turned slowly to the man, his arms spread in a nonthreatening manner.

"Put the gun down." He ordered.

Ray stepped back an inch. "Look, I don't want any trouble."

"I SAID PUT THE GUN DOWN!" The man screamed, the gun still pointed directly in Ray's face.

He instantly dropped the gun, but the man refused to lower his own. "I'm taking the van."

Ray only nodded and backed away slowly, until he stood once more in front of his children. Once the man got into the van, Ray hastily picked Rachel back up and ushered the other two into an abandoned coffee shop behind them.

Robbie clutched his stomach as he practically fell into one of the restaurant's booths, Rebecca sitting down beside him and leaning into him, her body shaking from a mix of shock and the cold. Rachel clung to her father as they sat in the opposite booth. A single gunshot outside startled the four, looking out the window to find the man who had taken their van had been shot and killed by someone who had picked Ray's gun up off the ground.

Ray now found himself at a loss of what to do. The little hope he had was now gone and he found himself suddenly overwhelmed, looking into the scared faces of his children. All of them were too young to die and much too young to have to experience the horror of what was happening. But this was something he couldn't stop. With that thought stuck on repeat in his mind, Ray finally found himself able to cry and not stop.

The sound of sniffling caused Robbie, Rebecca, and Rachel to all look at their dad. They had never seen him like this before. He was always the one to keep it together in hard times and allow things to simply roll right off his back, but now he was falling apart right in front of their eyes. It was at that moment, seeing their dad just as fearful and doubtful as they were, that the disaster around them became real and not just a nightmare they would soon wake from.


End file.
